learntoquestion ltq discussions

I think that the desegregation of Boston justified the painful transition to forced busing, but it's extremely depressing to hear about just how much pushback there was. The truth when it comes to civil rights movements is that when they're really necessary, there is often going to be a worrying amount of backlash, and that's what makes the movement worth it. That being said, it's saddening that it isn't acknowledge now that there was such great violence that some people had to deal with Molotov cocktails being thrown into their yards, which sounds almost like 1930s German-tier violence. Police also seemed unhelpful, refusing to disperse the violent mobs at times.

I feel like it should go without saying that desegregation was a worthy goal. The segregation in the city is what caused this controversy in the first place, as people who have been racially separated since birth and are on the higher end of an unequal situation are just going to act as if this is natural and be resistant to change, even when it's for the better.

I don't think there really could have been any other solutions. The schools were segregated, but not legally, so the only way that they could be desegregated was through enforcement of certain policies specifically about the public schools, as the segregation wasn't able to just be made illegal like it had been in the South.

I can't really say what would have been intolerable if I had grown up in the seventies because I would have likely been exposed to an entirely different set of circumstances growing up. Like it or not, almost everything that we believe is founded in the way that we grew up, and if we grew up to believe terrible things, it can be a long and hard journey to shed those views. I like to imagine that I would have been in favor of desegregating the schools, but the fact of the matter is that apathy toward the situation or even anger was so normalized, it's hard to say what any of us would have actually believed.

I think the most visible effects today is the fact that people still seem to be convinced that desegregation is a good move, and there are still moves being made, such as the Metco program, to try to get rid of the status quo, which is still very segregated. I think without the initial moves to desegregate Boston's public schools, this would not have been possible, as the groundwork would still need to be laid.

I believe the goal of desegregation is absolutely a worthy cause, and I think the means to get to that goal the right way to go about it and probably the only real way to actually accomplish the goal. The goal of busing was to desegregate schools as quickly and efficiently as possible, and because it was such a sudden shift it caused a lot of tensions between neighborhoods and families of different races. Children were subjected to riots and violence when all they wanted to do was go to school. However, it can't be denied that it solved the problem, and it could be argued that if families were so strongly opposed to desegregation in general, they probably wouldn't comply to less forceful, "gentler" methods. Also, busing gave children opportunities to find out and learn about children who were of other races, and it gave students of color who had poorer quality of education a chance to actually go to a school and learn the things they should have learned but simply couldn't. The plan could have been a little more thoughtfully planned out, the school council probably should have seen that if segregation was still a thing being upheld, then that would mean there would be people who would have strong opinions against the decision. Maybe they didn't expect protests to the extent that it was, but they needed to not only prioritize desegregation, but also the safety of the students they were trying to desegregate. You can't have integrated schools if all of the students are either too scared to go to school or if their parents are too scared for them to go to school.

The BPS system absolutely needed to change. With the demographic of Boston becoming more diverse, it would be ridiculous to maintain segregated schools, especially when other cities have already done so. Also, (from classwork) it was both unsurprising and surprising that kids didn’t know anything about kids of other races. They needed to become accustomed to other races, and that would actually promote desegregation.

If I had lived through that time, I probably would have been one of the many Chinese/Asian students living in Chinatown at the time. I also would have made up a very small percentage of students at the time (apparently I still do!). I looked up an article on how busing affected Chinatown, and apparently Chinese students were favored by white students, staff, and parents at other schools over Black people. It makes sense to me considering the social biases of the time, but I don’t really know how to feel about that. It makes me a uncomfortable knowing that my race is what defines me as “tolerable,” and that children of other races are being seen as the opposite. But despite that there were still tensions and fights still broke out. Many Chinese-immigrant parents could barely understand what was happening because the announcements were made in English. Either way, the experience probably would have been really scary, especially if I was a younger student.

Today, BPS is much more diverse, and more students of color are able to have quality education. However, Boston itself still faces income inequality, displacement, and other such forms of inequality that are less obvious than schooling, but are definitely still there.

Originally posted by someepiphany on October 27, 2022 22:35

Did the ends (desegregating the Boston public schools) justify the means (busing)?

Desegregating the Boston Public Schools justified the means (busing) because, although there likely could have been other more efficient and safer ways to do it, it was still a step in the right direction. The ultimate goal was integration and education: many of the kids of color needed access to resources and, due to the fact that the money and care was going into nearly exclusively the white schools, it was logical to try to integrate the schools to ensure that the students would have a better access to education. They might have hoped that, because of the fact that the schools were more integrated, people would pay attention to more than one of the schools as a result.

Was desegregation a worthy goal or not?

Yes, desegregation was a worthy goal. It’s important to make sure everyone has access to the same kinds of opportunities and education to ensure that our society becomes more equitable and fair. In the articles and documentary, it was clear that the imbalance between the schools’ access to resources and money was staggering. Both schools, according to the article, were underfunded yet the white school still had a systematic advantage that the black school did not. Desegregation meant people could chase the dreams they wanted, with the education they were now gaining, and support their families.

Did change need to happen in the Boston Public Schools or were there other solutions to the remedy prescribed by Judge W. Arthur Garrity?

Change needed to happen in the Boston Public School system. Students were not getting a proper access to education and resources and there was excessive inaction on the part of the government. Primarily Black schools didn’t have the same amount of supplies, resources, and consistent teachers, and thus the students weren’t getting the same care and attention to their education. It was a flawed solution but something needed to be done in response to the expansive issue, there needed to be a decisive alteration to the system.

Can you imagine going to school in the environment of 1974-1975? What would have been tolerable? What would have been intolerable?

I cannot imagine going to school in the environment of 1974-1975, the mobs and violence and tension around every corner. I don’t know what I would’ve done, or how I would’ve reacted to the sheer horror of the situation; slurs being thrown around, glasses and rocks smashed into school buses. And the fact that the violence was primarily coming from grown adults, it’s just insane.

What do you see as the most visible effects today of the desegregation era of 1974-1975?

I think the fact that Boston Public Schools did become more diverse is the most visible effect of the desegregation era of 1974-1975. Although Boston is very much still a racially segregated city, BPS has definitely made some efforts to try to give kids better opportunities and resources. It’s still not enough, though. Schools across the city are still very starkly racially segregated and many do not have the same resources. More work needs to be done, but it is clear that some progress has been made.

I agree strongly with the point that while this was an imperfect solution, it was still something which needed to be done. It's obvious that there was an extreme amount of violence as a result of the move to desegregate Boston schools, but it was absolutely necessary because, at the end of the day, Boston schools would have just remained segregated if this never happened. The public outcry was just the price that the city had to pay in exchange for having a slightly less segregated school system, and I think that it says a lot about Boston as a city that such a simple and seemingly inoffensive cause people to react like the world was ending. I feel like a lot of people tend to have an image of Boston as a place where racism wasn't a major part of our history in the same way that it was for a lot of places in the South, but that could not be further from the truth.

Yes: the ends justify the means because equal opportunity and education is endlessly important in the fight for civil rights. However, just because desegregation is a worthy goal, that doesn't mean that busing was the right approach to enforcing it, considering its effectiveness was limited in the choice of schools the students were bused to and the fact that busing didn't negatively affect, but rather benefited the politicians who opposed it.

Yes: Desegregation was a worthy goal because it was such a significant step towards racial equality, but it doesn't sound like busing was the right solution. Many of the Black and White students that were forced to participate were bused to schools with equally little funding and poor conditions, meaning the schools that received funding, that could actually benefit the Black students, were not the ones being integrated.

Yes: I think change needed to happen in Boston, but that there were probably other, better solutions that should have been considered before going to the one prescribed by Judge W. Arthur Garrity. I think the State Board of Education should have consulted Black teachers and perhaps activists before coming up with a solution that was supposed to help Black students and communities.

No: I can't imagine going to school in the environment of 1974-1975 because riding the school bus to school is something I really enjoy because it's always so warm and calm, the exact opposite of what the students that were bused experienced. If I was in elementary school, I would probably be able to tolerate, even enjoy school because according to the student essays from 6th graders attending Holmes Elementary School, school was actually really fun. I think because the students were younger, there was less racism and violence present within the school and its students. The racist ideologies of society and possibly their parents hadn’t been ingrained into them yet, and they aren't being pressured into choosing a race to side with. The most intolerable part of going to school during this time would have been the violence within the high schools which probably would make me more paranoid about going to school and would have decreased my overall academic performance too.

The most visible effects today of the desegregation era of 1974-1975 is the detrimental impact busing had on the communities that were forced to participate in it: all the kids lost to overdoses in South Boston and all the kids lost to gun violence in Roxbury. An entire generation of Boston students was lost to busing and the long lasting effects on them, their education, and their neighborhoods. I agree with Ms. Freeman that there's probably a ghost still lingering in those communities: an underlying memory of all the negativity and violence that once engulfed those schools.

I think that what griffin.lally said about how many of the perpetrators are probably still alive and likely some of our grandparents is really thought-provoking. Just like they said, I know I often don't realize how recent the progress we've made was because it has been a constant in my life, as someone who never experienced what life was like before these developments. I think (hope) that many people involved in the violence were able to separate their individual beliefs from any beliefs society or the other people in their life imposed upon them because like griffin.lally said, that is how the cycle continues, parents forcing their hate and racist beliefs onto their children who grow up believing that.

The end, successful desegregation within Boston Public School, I would say was most definitely justified by the means of busing as although the desegregation was not the most efficient and brought about major conflict for some time, it worked. Busing gave the opportunity of better education to many less privileged children who otherwise would not have such a chance. The busing acts definitely brought about much unnecessary hate and violence making me think there were definitely better ways to deal with the issues of segregation. I read many stories from students entering schools emplacing this busing and it was honestly saddening to read of twelve-year-olds' fears of riots and fights on their way to and within their School, which should be a safe space for children. There were many conflicts that arose from the busing acts but I also read of many friendships that were made and beautiful instances of integration.

Desegregation was one thousand percent a worthy goal and for it to be enforced at such a young age, allowed our new generation to grow closer and love each other. The disadvantages and inequalities minorities face can be detrimental to the growth and success of such people. Though the busing acts did cause some violence and outrage desegregation is a goal that we as a society must continue to strive to reach. I have read of many peers expressing their beliefs that if busing was enforced upon even younger ages they will grow not to develop and learn bias’.

Change undoubtedly had to take place within Boston public schools. The immense disproportion of the students within Boston public schools before the busing act was honestly extremely daunting. Of the 96,000 students in Boston, public schools within 1972 over 60% of them were white, leaving less than 40% to all other races. Other solutions were possible such as distributing money and resources to predominantly black schools, but they lacked political and administrative voices to change such. By 1988 the number of students dropped to 57,000 with only 24% of them being white, 48% black, 19% Hispanic, and 8% Asian. Obviously seen through this data you may observe the essential change that had to take place and the ending success of busing.

The environment of schools during 1974-1975 was extremely hostile and filled with hate and anger. After reading so many accounts of students who attended these schools during this time attempting to understand the environment still seems so difficult. Dozens of fights and even riots would break out during the entirety of the school day. This environment was aggressive and hazardous, even to the point of a stabbing of a student, leaving me to think I would definitely not be able to learn, but most likely not know how to act upon the chaos running throughout the school.

Boston public schools becoming much more diverse was the most visible effect of the 1974-1975 acts of desegregation. Though this did help BPS majorly with its segregation problems, Boston as a city itself is still one of the most segregated cities which means we have not done enough to desegregate our schools and community.

Did the ends (desegregating the Boston public schools) justify the means (busing)?

Desegregating Boston public schools was a very necessary step that needed to take place, especially because of the disparity in the quality of education, in schools with majority black versus majority white students. This is still seen in certain cases today. Reading the letters of the student who went to Holmes school, and much they loved it,”had fun” how they were able to make new friends with people of other races, have classes that connected with what they wanted to study in the future.(WGBH). They wouldn’t have had this experience if schools remained segregated. The only thing I wonder is; was the goal of desegregation was actually met? The entire reason they wanted integration is because the public schools that had majority white students were given more funding, and had better quality education. Today I still see the public schools with a majority of White students getting more funding, and having more opportunities than public schools with majority Black and Hispanic students.

Was desegregation a worthy goal or not?

Despite the difficulties, and immense racism, desegregation was a worthy goal.Black students needed to have equal opportunity in having an education and gaining knowledge. In the movie we saw in class one of the activists for integrating scholls said that when the Black students wrote letters to him about their experince on the bus it contained a lot of grammatical errors. Many of them didn’t know how to spell, use proper tenses, etc. This is because of the quality of education they were getting. They barely had permanent teachers, there wasn’t enough textbooks and even of there was the books were probably torn and looked horrible. The schools themselves looked horrible, there wasn’t enough seats for students. How is anyone supposed to learn in an environment like that? Desegregation gave Black students more options of what scholls they wanted to attend, and enabled them to actually learn effectively. Today, “schools have improved. Teachers are [a little] more representative of the students they serve. Middle-class blacks today have far more options than they did in the 1960s. They get

their kids into METCO. Or a charter school. Or a parochial school”(Farah stockman).

Did change need to happen in the Boston Public Schools or were there other solutions to the remedy prescribed by Judge W. Arthur Garrity?

The change needed to happen, and although I wish it went smoother, I believe that the mandate Judge Garrity made was the best way to handle the situation, because without it BPS might still be extremely segregated till today. Since the people weren’t ready to change even though federal laws said there shouldn’t be segregation in schools, they needed to be force. Although, there is still a lot of work to be done, I think BPS had come a long way and has greatly benefited from the integration of schools.

Can you imagine going to school in the environment of 1974-1975? What would have been tolerable? What would have been intolerable?

Imagining going to school is this environment is very hard. School is already very stressful and difficult. I can’t imagine dealing with that and also dealing with people protesting my right to recieve an education outside my school everyday, throwing things at me (A Child) and trying to hurt me just because I want an education. I can’t imagine how scared I would be getting up everyday and having to ride a bus with people who probably want to kill me right outside. My mental health would be horrible. I don’t even think I would be able to learn anything. I think the only thing that would be mildly tolerable, is the fact that I would not be alone, and there are other kids that look like me also going through it. But I believe that I probably would have stopped going to school, or just move to another state.

What do you see as the most visible effects today of the desegregation era of 1974-1975?

The most visible effects of desegrations today are; The segregation in housing, many black people moved because of desegregation and the enmity anmd hostility that came from it. “South Boston, a famously insular enclave, counted 155 blacks in the tract that includes Old Colony and Mary Ellen McCormack in 1970. Ten years later, how many remained? None”(Stockman). Also White flight is very visible how many white students have moved to either private or charter schools, or just the amount of white people that moved out of Boston in general. And finally the fact that there are people of different racial backgrounds in BPS today, it has become very diverse.

Originally posted by toneloc on October 27, 2022 21:47

While I believe that desegregation is necessary, bussing doesn't sound like the best solution to me. Barring any discussions of race, it's understandable that people wouldn't want to travel across the city when there's a school right in their neighborhood. The issue with Boston Public Schools was more the unequal funding of these schools. As we saw from the videos and articles, bussing was hard on everyone, especially the black students being bussed into dangerous situations with angry white students throwing rocks, and even more violent actions. Another thing that doesn't seem to make sense is that although bussing would theoretically lessen unequal educational opportunities between black and white people, the gap between the poorly funded schools and wealthy schools was still there. It remains today. The education system in Boston is truly awful even today.

If I had lived during this time, the mixing of races would never be an issue for me but if I was at a poorly funded school with limited resources, it would be something I would be unhappy about therefore I think the first step of desegregation would be to get equal funding of all of the public schools so that everyone has an equal opportunity. Then desegregation could begin. There are efforts now to continue with desegregation but it is nowhere where it should be. Desegregation movements we can see today are things like the METCO program which is a similar idea to bussing in the 60s but it is voluntary.

Although I agree that bussing was especially hard on the black kids. I don't completely agree that the first step should have been giving equal funding, especially because in the 70s they probably didn't have a lot of money for public schools and even with what they have there's still a lot of racism, so they probably wouldn't even think to share the funding equally with black students, who they thought were less important than the white ones. Also, equal funding doesn't solve the problem of segregation, it might give a little more money but the races still wouldn't interact and learn with each other. In my opinion desegregation as a second step after funding would still trigger the same response, because the real problem isn't the fact they had to take buses to other schools in a different neighboorhood, it is the fact that the neighboorhood were predominanty black, they had to mix up and be in the same spaces as black people.

• Did the ends (desegregating the Boston public schools) justify the means (busing)?
  • It is certainly debatable as to whether or not forced busing was the most effective means to end segregation in Boston Public schools, but it was undoubtedly an important and worthwhile step in the right direction. It was certainly better than having a segregated schooling system, but the shocking violence and heinous actions that sprung up against the children on the buses and people within the schools certainly make me wonder if this was the right METHOD to go about achieving this goal.
• Was desegregation a worthy goal or not?
  • Desegregation was certainly an important goal. A nation divided against itself has never stood the test of time. The race itself is a mere human construct with a cultlike following amongst western countries, and thus threatens the facets of democratic institutions all across the globe. It shouldn’t have to be this way, but the perceived separation between “black” and “white” people lead to mass hysteria and a regression amongst our nation and numerous others abroad. In the pursuit of the eradication of race as a construct to classify the human race into arbitrarily defined sections, desegregation was an important stepping stone for 1970’s America to overcome and move on from to tackle the next step.
• Did change need to happen in the Boston Public Schools or were there other solutions to the remedy prescribed by Judge W. Arthur Garrity?
  • Change needed to happen. Other methods might have been better, but I firmly believe that this step was most feasible to happen within somewhat of a predictable timeframe and cost.
• Can you imagine going to school in the environment of 1974-1975? What would have been tolerable? What would have been intolerable?
  • Going to school during the tumultuous period of 1974-1975 would’ve been unbearable. As someone who has a strong sense of personal equity and fairness, seeing classmates being stoned, beaten up, and stabbed because of their race would’ve been gut-wrenching. Not only would the physical actions undertaken by classmates to fellow classmates immensely bother me, but the basis as to which they would be fighting would immensely trouble me. As a consequence of being white, I would’ve likely not been targeted, which would also disturb me. I would simultaneously be happy that my fellow black students would be able to get a fair chance at a good education, juxtaposed with their increased likelihood of getting severe physical abuse.
• What do you see as the most visible effects today of the desegregation era of 1974-1975?
  • The most visible ripple effects visible in Boston today after the desegregation efforts of the mid-'70s are witnessed in the neighborhoods and in BPS. Neighborhoods continue to display gentrification and inequitable treatment of people based on race compounded with where they live is a visible consequence of such desegregation efforts. In the BPS system itself, we see the inverse: a more and more racially diverse student body is actually indicative of the success of the program, even though it may not have directly been traced to that action.

• Did the ends (desegregating the Boston public schools) justify the means (busing)?
  • Yes, I would say it did justify the means, because the whole point of desegregation in Boston public schools was to give the same quality of education that the white kids were receiving because of their race and wealth. Busing made the field of education more equal for minorities, and gave more educational resources to African Americans as well. I’m not sure what the timestamp was, but the video we saw in class with a teacher talking about how sad he felt when the African American students couldn’t write well, made me feel glad that they were put into a school that would teach them these important skills.
• Was desegregation a worthy goal or not?
  • Yes, it was. Although desegregation faced a lot of backlash from the white community, in the end, African Americans were able to have access to better resources, and to other resources as well that they weren’t able to have before. It not only gave African Americans better opportunities for education, but it also desegregated a world that shouldn’t be segregated in the first place. Everyone should be able to live with each other and accept everyone’s differences, as well as learn from one another. That’s how progress is made.
• Did change need to happen in the Boston Public Schools or were there other solutions to the remedy prescribed by Judge W. Arthur Garrity?
  • Change definitely needed to happen– I think busing helped with integrating people from different backgrounds into schools that didn’t have those demographics before. It was certainly a messy process, however, because of the riots and politics focusing on how white people felt rather than how good it was for black kids to receive the good education they deserved. One solution could have been to redistribute the funding for the schools, since some had more funding than others (I don’t know what the logistics of that would be though). In the end, it is important for kids and adults to interact with people from different ethnicities and backgrounds for a more united world and community.
• Can you imagine going to school in the environment of 1974-1975? What would have been tolerable? What would have been intolerable?
  • For me, as someone who is Hispanic, it would’ve been intolerable. Gosh, I can’t imagine the fear they must’ve felt to go to school during those riots. Those kids sure did have a strong drive for learning to be able to deal with that kind of treatment. Why would anyone want to bar children like that from learning? It’s truly infuriating. The violence, the blatant racism, and the betrayal from other white neighbors taking out their anger and fears on us would have been absolutely intolerable. In the Boston Globe article by Farah Stockman, it talks about the violence an African American student faced after the busing system was implemented. People he used to play baseball with turned against him and set his yard on fire. The whole thing with the Michael Faith shooting as well was terrible. The atmosphere caused by politics was heavy.
• What do you see as the most visible effects today of the desegregation era of 1974-1975?
  • I think BPS’s diversity has been the result of the desegregation era of the mid 1970s. Boston Latin School has become more diverse over the years because of there being more resources available to those who wanted to study for the exams and get in. It has improved the resources students have through certain programs for things outside of school as well (like help with finding food), but Boston as a city is still at least somewhat-segregated. Funding should be better distributed among schools.

Originally posted by Mylienta on October 26, 2022 12:09

• Did the ends (desegregating the Boston public schools) justify the means (busing)?
  • Yes, it did justify the means. It may not be the best way to have solved an issue like segregation but it does 'solve' the issue. the main problem is the fact that these kids came from schools with little to no funding, rarely any resources, and placed them in schools and expected them to succeed it's like telling a baby to walk, not giving them the proper materials to do so, and blaming them for not knowing how. The black community specifically in America has had such a unique experience and have been blamed for not 'succeeding' at the rate others are but are never given the chance to do so but then blame them for not being able to.
  • This country has had a strong history of resisting any type of change. So the busing made Americans have major growing pains so much so that they resulted in assaulting children who had nothing to do with the court decision for busing. Desegregating the schools is needed because forcing them to interact with people they otherwise wouldn't is important especially at a younger age and it also provides students with a new ideas and new perspectives from other students. Not only does desegregating schools justify the means of busing (although there are better ways) it helps students socially and academically.
• Was desegregation a worthy goal or not?
  • Yes because it gives everyone an equal opportunities. By creating busing to different schools of different neighborhoods they are closer to being on equal standing
  • It is also unfair how other students had more opportunities in terms of their background and former schooling. If former students came from rural southern schools or schools within he city with less funding and opportunity they are at an obvious disadvantage. In the video we watched in class a principal explained how some black students in high school were so far behind. Some didn't know how to read or write a coherent sentence and were automatically at a disadvantage without given a chance.
• Did change need to happen in the Boston Public Schools or were there other solutions to the remedy prescribed by Judge W. Arthur Garrity?
  • times are changing more and more people of different race are immigrating to the United States and it shouldn't stay separate especially if not everyone is given an equal opportunity. Change definitely needed to happen in the BPS system and the busing was the smoothest way it could happen. Teaching kids and allowing kids to be comfortable around kids of different races is very important especially in a country that is as multicultural and multiracial like the United States. It may sound ridiculous to us now but people genuinely did not have a lot of interaction with people of other races.
  • With issues like this Jude W. Arthur Garrity was trying to cater to the white community. Slow integration of the schooling system is not what we need. If kids are the future we should provide them with the adequate resources to succeed.
• Can you imagine going to school in the environment of 1974-1975? What would have been tolerable? What would have been intolerable?
  • No I can't image going to school in that environment. None of what I saw would've been tolerable but knowing the time I was put in there was probably nothing I could've done about it. It was a different time then and being outspoken wasn't encouraged. The most intolerable thing is grown adults trying to inflict harm on children who have nothing to do with what they're fighting for. Why are you screaming at these kids as if they chose to come to the school. It is such a sick mentality and it's cray to think that people either present in the video or in the protests are peoples parents and grandparents and gives me a drop of reality where these things did not happen a long time ago and there should not be a reason why I had no idea of the terrible history the city that I've lived in all my life has.
• What do you see as the most visible effects today of the desegregation era of 1974-1975?
  • I have seen this first hand with the Roxbury prep schools. My sister was the first class and the school had a lot more races present and as time went on the population of non black and hispanic people disappeared, the funding went down and so did the resources. These things still happen today but happens very discreetly.
  • Also the most visible effects is white flight. Outside of and on the outskirts of boston the main population of people are white and after the bussing system of implemented more and more white families left, 'white flight', resulting in less tax funding for schools in the city and a prime example is charter schools.

Wow, I didn't know anything about white flight being a thing. That's really messed up. I totally agree with everything you said about, and I do also think that busing was needed to speed up integration in schools and spread resources more in a place that is predominantly white as well.

I think, in the end, the ends did justify the means. I struggled with this question because if the kids’ lives were put in danger when they got on those buses and were stoned by angry parents, then how could busing be worth it? But desegregation was a necessity. Busing helped push Boston forward in the right direction.

Of course desegregation was a worthy goal. We cannot live in a world where some people are held back on the basis of race. We cannot continue to separate races and let some of these separate communities hate others because of beliefs that will never be fixed if these communities stay separated. When desegregation happens, people learn to get along with anyone of any race and the dismantling of racist mindsets can actually begin.

Change definitely needed to happen. I think there definitely could’ve been a better solution to the issue that should’ve focused on protecting the children. Many parents, stuck in their old ways, refused to accept the change. They stoned innocent children because of their outdated beliefs. While busing did work, it also risked the safety of the children who were bused. There should’ve been guards to stop the angry parents or a different start to desegregation that was better planned.

I do think it’s incredibly important that change happened starting with young people. Young people are generally more accepting of change while some older people rely so heavily on what they’re used to. In one of the articles, you see that some parents did not want their children to be bused because they worried for the safety of their kids, but their kids still chose to be bused anyway. In many of the WGBH essays, many kids who seemed to be expecting hate after busing, went to school and found out it was fine. The danger the Black kids faced was brought upon by white parents or white kids influenced by their parents.

I absolutely could not imagine going to school during 1974-1975, especially if I were bused. Every single part of it, I think I would’ve struggled with. From switching schools to having to make new friends, and most definitely to the fear I would have of simply going to school, it would all have overwhelmed me. I would not even have had half the bravery that some of the kids who had been stoned yet still chose to continue to be bused had had.

Today the most visible effect of the desegregation era is most definitely the increased diversity we have in some Boston schools. However I also 100% agree with what ilovefroyo said about the heavy segregation that still remains in Boston. Since BLS was the first BPS school I attended since kindergarten, I cannot speak very clearly about the diversity of other schools in Boston. At BLS, I think we’re pretty diverse. But I know that many students who do not go to exam schools end up going to schools in their own neighborhoods and many neighborhoods are still predominantly one race. I used to be so confused when I heard that Boston was considered the most racist city in the U.S. After all, aren’t we in the north, incredibly liberal, and don’t we have a pretty diverse population? But if you look closer, you can see it: Boston is still pretty segregated.

• Did the ends (desegregating the Boston public schools) justify the means (busing)?
  • Yes, most certainly. Were there problems with this method of going about the desegregation of Boston Public Schools? Definitely. But it got the job done and got kids the opportunity to be in a school that actually had the resources needed to nourish the development of their learning and education. The busing situation definitely caused a lot more violence than previously thought and made boston a war ground of both physical confrontations and constant debates from both sides either advocating for the busing and against the busing.

• Was desegregation a worthy goal or not?
  • Desegregation is a worthy goal in my eyes as in order for our nation to move forward the universal desegregation of all environments must have been implemented eventually, preferably sooner than later due to the death count piling up.
  • The desegregation of schools was deeply important due to the problem of the funding of schools being disproportional in the favor of those that were majority white than schools that were majority black. The students put at a disadvantage due to this inequality were affected so much that their literacy came into question and it was decided that some of the schools conditions had gotten so bad that the kids were illiterate. By giving these kids an equal standing it allows them the possibility of having the same opportunities in life if based on intelligence.

• Did change need to happen in the Boston Public Schools or were there other solutions to the remedy prescribed by Judge W. Arthur Garrity?
  • In order to save the future of the non-white students in the Boston Public Schools from a failed education system and illiteracy, there must be an immediate change to the system. If there was any hesitation or stalling, another grade of children would have their education wasted and their ability and right to education stripped from them leading to the forced intellectual inferiority of people that did nothing to deserve it in the first place but to have been born with melanin.

• Can you imagine going to school in the environment of 1974-1975? What would have been tolerable? What would have been intolerable?
  • No, going to school in that environment of the constant fear of being jumped or basically walking into a warzone daily with students constantly fighting and parents constantly harassing and pelting students just trying to go to school. What I would have been able to tolerate is the disagreement that might come with me attending a primarily white school but anything beyond a general and calm debate is unacceptable. Fully grown adults pelting young elementary school children with rocks, kids being beaten in the streets for walking around in the wrong neighborhood, protestors being dragged by mobs participating in a counter-rally. That is deplorable and absolutely unacceptable.

• What do you see as the most visible effects today of the desegregation era of 1974-1975?
  • The still constant problem of making exam schools (specifically BLS) have equal representation of people of all backgrounds (even if I believe that a certain aspect, race, should not matter in the first place but then again, humans will be humans) is still present as shown in our admission records and the faculty hired still not meeting the standards that were ordered under the court.
  • Also the issue in funding schools that aren’t primarily white. My old school was exactly like the primarily black schools in these articles and the condition of our school got so bad that the building was breaking apart while we were basically forced to keep attending if we wanted to learn and get a grade.

Also, wonderwoman makes an excellent point that the wealthiest members of Boston were not chosen in the busing situation but two groups of low income neighborhoods that were both discriminated against in their own right (although one so much more than the other).